Google might have just sold just over a million Pixel handsets

The Google Pixel is the company’s first self-branded smartphone which was launched in the October of last year. This was the first time the Mountain View based search-giant decided to become the smartphone manufacturer. The Pixel received critical praise for its combining of powerful hardware with the latest optimisation in Android.

Now, eight months on the question is how has Google’s venture as an OEM panned out? The company does not release official sales numbers for its hardware instead choosing to bundle the income under other revenues when it issues earnings reports. One method of zeroing in on the potential Pixel sales though is through the Play Store which shows install numbers for applications. Using an application that was exclusive and installed by default only on Pixel phones, such as the Pixel Launcher. So if one could close on the numbers of these installs they could extrapolate the number of Google Pixel devices sold.

There is one caveat though in this model, it is an extrapolation due to two factors. One is that the Play Store does not list the exact installation number and two, one can root their device and manage to install the application on a non-Pixel device. The first of these issues, that of the Play Store rounding of the installs into a milestone like 1,000 –> 10,000 –> 100,000 obfuscates the final number can be solved by using a third-party app tracking site like AppBrain which still lists the Launcher’s install counts as 500,000, so even if it has surpassed the 1 million mark, it is probably only by a couple of thousands or tens of thousands.

The second issue, that of rooted devices installing the application is not going to heavily influence the numbers because most people going through the effort are enthusiasts and not widely influenced. Also, side-loading the application and installing the Pixel launcher is also no guarantee since those installations are not accounted for by the Play Store. Thus, even if we account for all these errors, the number of Google Pixel devices floating about cannot significantly be over the 1 million mark.

What do you think of these sales figures, are you one of the people who downloaded the application after rooting your device or side-loaded it? Do let us know in the comments below and remember to follow us on our social media to keep up to date with the latest in the world of Android.